Cruelty's Mistress
by Daysky
Summary: One fated meeting leads Satomi Arimori deep into a dark place. Fear, love, and pain are all too real for cruelty's mistress. T for violence
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so this is my first Fruits Basket story, well not really. I've written one other, but I haven't posted that yet, so I'm starting with this one. I don't know if any of my readers from my other stories are reading this, but if so, go vote on my profile for which story(s) you want updated next! Love y'all!**

Sunshine fell down through the windows into the orientation room, lighting up the faces of the nervous first year students at Kaibara High School. Two second year boys were mingling around, answering questions and concerns. In a corner stood a small blonde girl with a thin string ribbon tied like a headband in her hair.

Going through her things once more, she gasped, she'd lost her schedule! Spotting one of the boys, she nervously walked over,

"Umm, senpai? I lost my class schedule…" the tall brown haired boy looked down t her,

"There's not really much I can do bout that." Her face fell, and she stuttered,

"Really? But…" suddenly a deep voice sounded behind her,

"Do you remember where you had it last? Let's go look for it." Turning she s aw the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen, his face was slightly feminine, but he was gorgeous. Dark grey hair framed his face, and his dark eyes were friendly, she could only stare as he spoke again, "Can you tell me your name and which class you're in?" Too dazed, it took her a moment to answer, and all the other girls were already yelling, so she cried out,

"Satomi Airimori, age 15, Scorpio, blood type B…" the rest of her words were drowned out by the others, and he was already gone before she could gather her senses, and she still hadn't found her schedule! Confused and worried, she started to wander through the halls, searching desperately for her lost schedule. It had been hours, and the bell had rung three times already, but Satomi had no idea what her first class was.

Then she saw a flash of blue and grey, the boy from earlier? He was walking through the halls, seeming agitated. Curious, she slipped off her shoes and crept quietly along in her socks, desperate to not make a sound. She followed him outside, wondering if he was sneaking off; suddenly the boy froze stiff, staring ahead.

Two people stood farther along the breezeway. One was a brunette, very pretty, but it was the boy who caught Satomi's eye. Just as handsome as the grey haired boy, but taller, and with pitch-black hair. The grey haired boy called out, sounding strangely frightened,

"Akito!" the dark haired boy glanced over in surprise, before he smiled and called back,

"Yuki!" _Akito, that must be his name! That tall, handsome boy with such nice dark hair!_ Satomi returned her eyes to the boys. Akito was talking quietly to Yuki, but he wasn't looking at him, but past him, right at her!

Satomi's eyes grew wide as the dark haired boy caught her eye, a small smile flashed across his face, before returning to Yuki. Shocked and embarrassed, Satomi turned and ran off, past the doors leading into the school, she ran to the corner of the tall building, the stopped, gasping for air. Thankfully, there were no windows on the wall behind her, so she leant against it, breathing hard. She stood there for a few moments, her eyes closed from exhaustion.

She opened them slowly, staring at her feet. It only took her a few moments to realize what was up, shed forgotten her shoes! She must have dropped them when she ran off! _They must have left by now! So I can go back and get my shoes. But what if that boy is still there, that would be so embarrassing!_ She shook her head and started walking, heading back to where the three people had been.

Glancing up at the tall building, she tripped over the edge of the sidewalk, and fell flat on her face. Looking up, she saw a pale hand in front of her face. Looking up, she saw the dark haired boy leaning over, holding out his hand. _Oh no, first I'm caught spying now this!_ She hesitantly took his hand and he pulled her up. She swayed as she stood, and he steadied her with an arm around her waist.

"Are you ok?" he asked quietly, she nodded, and he smiled again, the same smile he had flashed when he caught her spying. He pointed to the ground and spoke a little louder, "I think you forgot these." She looked down and saw her shoes, blushing furiously; she slipped her feet back into them,

"Thank you so much!" He smiled again, then glanced away for a moment. She noticed his arm was still around her waist, and she instantly realized how odd they must look. Before she could say something, he spoke again,

"I heard your school get out early today, how about you and I go get a bite to eat, if you want?" Satomi nodded,

"I would love that, I mean, yes um ok…" she stuttered. He laughed slightly, then took her hand, leading her away toward the parking lot.

**Ok, I have to go finish laundry so I'm cutting this off short, I promise Chapter 2 will be longer. Thanks for reading everyone! Please review!**

**Daysky**


	2. Chapter 2

**No reviews :( dang, well, if anyone reads this, here's a long chapter 2! Review?**

The sun beat down on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, casting bright light across the table between Satomi and Akito. The dark haired boy was flipping through the menu, and he absentmindedly tossed the shiny locks from his face. Satomi couldn't keep her eyes on themenu; no one could with such a handsome boy across the table from them!

Casting her eyes around the room, she noticed for the first time how nice the restaurant was. Chandeliers and fine china plates, the whole nine yards. She couldn't dream of affording such a fancy place. Glancing at the menu, she stared at the prices, before deciding to just pick something and go with it.

"Is something wrong?" his deep voice caught her off guard, and she jerked her head up with a dumb sounding,

"Huh?" He smiled slightly,

"You seem bothered, is something wrong?" Her eyes grew wide,

"Oh, no, it just seems so… expensive…" He raised his eyebrows slightly, his dark eyes boring into hers,

"Its owned by some relatives of mine, I get a discount." A quiet 'oh' was all she could manage after that, but he seems intent on continuing the conversation. "I don't think I introduced myself, I'm Akito Sohma, what's your name?" She was silent for a moment before stuttering out,

"I um, Satomi uh Airimori?" she ended with her voice raised like a question from nerves. This was so awkward! He smiled again; he seemed to do that a lot,

"Are you sure?" she blushed furiously, jumping when he grabbed her hand under the table. At that moment the waiter came up, he simply nodded at Akito, then turned to Satomi, still scribbling on his notepad, she stuttered out her order, feeling very stupid. The waiter was gone before she had taken another breath.

"So Satomi, you're a first year right? Where do you live? I haven't seen you around before." Satomi gathered her thoughts a moment before speaking,

"I just moved here from Kyoto. Yeah, I'm a first year." His had climbed to her wrist and pulled her hand up onto the table. Pointing to the thin chain bracelet, he looked up at her,

"Where'd you get this?" She looked at the bracelet for a moment before answering,

"It was my mother's, my parents are divorced so I haven't seen her in years. I used to have a pair of matching earrings but I lost them." Her voice broke during the second sentence as he started to play with her fingers. He seemed to be oblivious to her discomfort, flipping her hand over and continuing to fiddle with her fingers.

He didn't speak again, just sat there as thought entranced by her hand. After several more minutes of silence that felt very awkward on Satomi's side, the waiter appeared again, carrying their food. The tall black clad man placed their plates and once again was gone before Satomi took a breath. She took a few bites, considering the situation.

Her first day of high school had started out so normal. She had woken up in her new home, took a quick shower and dressed in her high school uniform. She ate breakfast, grabbed her stuff, and had been out the door before her father was even up.

It had all gone great until her stupid schedule had gone missing, after that she had somehow ended up on a date with a boy shed just met, at a restaurant she could never afford, and all he seemed interested in was her fingers!

He was gorgeous, yes, but why her fingers? Even as he ate, he still held her hand, seeming content with silence. This was the most awkward lunch she'd ever eaten! After several more minutes of silence, Akito finally spoke,

"So, you want to go somewhere else after this, it's Monday, so most people will still be at work." She stopped mid-bite, her fork halfway to her mouth, and lowered her fork,

"Um, I like the park, I guess…" He smiled and squeezed her hand lightly, causing her to drop her fork. This got a tiny laugh from him as her face flushed and she quickly grabbed it up again, more embarrassed than she'd ever been in her life.

They finished the meal quickly, and Akito simply nodded at the waiter, before grabbing her hand and leading her out of the restaurant. Looking down she realized she was still her uniform from school. As the door shut behind them she shivered, her legs shaking, exposed by her tiny skirt. Akito must have noticed, because he unzipped his black sweatshirt and put it around her, revealing a grey t-shirt. She slid her arms into it, relishing in the warmth. He zipped it up before grabbing her hand and leafing her off toward the park.

The trees in the park were bare, leafless in the cold winter, but they still hid the winding path from view after a few yards in. Akito led her down the trail, walking a little slower now that they were at the park, and he seemed at bit more relaxed than before. As they walked deep into the small patch of forest, she noticed it was growing darker. Had they taken that long eating? Or had they been on the path longer than she thought?

Finally, they came to a bench by the path. It sat in a small grassy patch, with a wooden seat and back and metal legs and arm rests, it looked like it came straight from some private garden in a movie. They sat down together, and Akito's arm returned to her waist, holding her close. He rested his chin on her head, and she thanked god she'd put on perfume this morning.

Akito seemed happy with just sitting there is silence, and they did for quite a while, the world around them growing steadily darker. Finally, he touched her hand, and she turned to look up at him. For a moment, they just stared at each other, then Akito glanced around quickly, and she looked too, wondering what he was doing that for. Before she could create another thought, she felt his lips on hers, and she gasped in surprise. Akito took his chance and slipped his tongue into her mouth. It took her several minutes to even get a clear thought in her head. _ He's kissing me! Oh my god he's kissing me!_ Went through her head several times before she thought to kiss him back. He relaxed when she started moving her mouth with his and put her hands on his shoulders to ground herself.

A moment later, they pulled away for air, and she stared at him, her hands still on his shoulders. His were on either side of her waist, how had she not noticed that? They sat like that for a minute, and Akito was first to break the silence.

"We need to get you home, your parents will worry." He pulled her up before she could protest and led her back down the trail. Calling a taxi, he looked at her and she gave the driver her address. They sat in the car in silence, but their hands stayed together. They pulled up to her house, turning to Akito, she smiled slightly,

"Thanks for taking me to lunch, it was nice." He smiled back, before turning to the driver, she barely heard him tell the driver 'Sohma Estate' before the yellow door shut behind her.

Satomi turned to her white house with its green roof and shutters. She walked up the path to the porch steps and slipped quietly in the door. Her father would be angry if she woke him up. She quietly climbed the stairs and shut her door. Her walls were a soft shade of blue, and her twin-sized bed was covered with a pale green duvet. She changed into her pajamas in the dark, and slipped under the warm covers, falling asleep almost instantly.

**Yes, I know Akito is OOC, but fear not, there is a reason for everything! Well, that is if anyone is reading this… Review? **


	3. Chapter 3

**In my notebook where I write this thing out these little drawings are randomly placed like bad illustrations! It's so fun to sit there writing and then suddenly draw little people acting out the story!**

A green tinted glow filled the room, creeping along the rug covered wood floor. It moved its way up the side of the bed to shine on the tangled duvet and sheets, before reaching the big wrinkled t-shirt Satomi slept in. Face down in the pillow, she lay counting down the seconds till' her alarm would ring. Even with her eyes closed, she could easily picture the room around her; it was a scene she'd woken to since early July.

Her room in Kyoto had been bigger and brighter, and the morning glow had been golden from the bright yellow curtains. But Satomi didn't enjoy bright colors as much as she had before her parents' divorce. The separation from her bright, happy mother, the person who'd brought all the color into her life, had been harder on Satomi than anyone could see. Somehow, her father had won the custody battle, and now she was stuck here miles from home, miles from her friends, the only people who would've understood her feelings right now.

In one of his more sober moments, her father had claimed the move was to get away from the past, to start a new life. All Satomi knew was he'd lived in the past since his arguments with her mother had started. Since that first drink had passed his lips. He'd driven Satomi's bright mother away, sucking the color from both of their lives. He blamed Satomi though, and even the smallest slip up on her part ended badly. Somehow, the jury had decided a drunkard was better than a single woman.

A loud beeping filled her ears, jarring her from her thoughts. She yanked the headphones from her ears and quietly hit the button to stop it. Lying still for a moment, she assured the house was quiet before slipping out of the bed. Treading silently, she slid open the closet door, wincing at every squeak it made. Pulling out her uniform for the day, she grabbed a thick white headband and silver stud earrings.

Grabbing her shoes, she snuck to the bathroom and took a shower on the lowest pressure she possibly could. Drying off, she got dressed and brushed out her wet hair, sliding the headband onto her head. After brushing her teeth, she picked up her shoes and snuck down the stairs. Grabbing her wallet and book bag, she shut the door with a quiet click. Slipping on the shoes, she took off running, fearful of the slim chance her father had woken.

Running full speed toward the city, she slipped her phone from her bag and checked the time. 7:30. Good, she had just enough time to stop by the fast food place for breakfast. When she reached it, she slowed her pace, ran her fingers through her hair, and walked through the sliding doors. Heading up to the counter she stood behind a skinny man who looked like he could stand to eat six breakfasts.

When it was her turn, she ordered and paid with a small smile. Unwrapping the food, she walked out and headed off as quickly as she could, eating as she went. She finished the food and started running again, but tripped over the concrete and landed on her face.

When she looked up, she could have sworn she saw a hand in front of her face. But when she looked up and confirmed no one was there, she remembered when someone had been yesterday. That handsome boy had been there, and he'd taken her to lunch after giving her back her shoes. They'd gone for a walk in the park and he'd, he'd _kissed _her! How had she forgotten that? Her first kiss! She realized her fingers were on her lips and she was still lying on the sidewalk.

Pushing to her feet, she dusted off and found her fingers back on her lips, remembering that boy from yesterday. Shaking her head, she dismissed her thoughts and took off running again. She'd missed the whole first day of school! Making up for that would take some smooth lies, but she was no baby and she'd had to lie to her father many times.

When she reached the school, she followed the signs, pushing through the crowd, to the office. After a quick conversation and some good excuses, she stepped out of the room with a new schedule in hand and her locker number written on her hand. Thankfully, she still had three minutes before the first class, so she made it to her locker easily and put her bag and wallet up. Slipping her lock through the hole, she clicked it shut and went over the code in her head. It was the same code she'd had in middle school, so there was no worry of forgetting it.

Checking her schedule, she made sure again that she had all she needed and set off to her first class. Sitting down, she sighed and boredly took notes with doodles in the margins. She lasted the rest of the time until lunch that way. When the bell rang for the end of the last period before lunch, she returned to her locker for maybe the fifth time. Unlocking it, she was pulling out her wallet when a voice behind her caught her attention,

"Did you ever find your schedule?" She spun around to see the tall, grey haired second year boy smiling at her. He was so handsome! Almost as handsome as Akito, the boy from yesterday!

"No, I had to get a new one." She smiled at him, but suddenly three pretty girls ran up and immediately grabbed his attention. Grabbing her wallet from where she'd dropped it, she locked her locker again. Following the general flow of students, she found her way to the cafeteria and bought her lunch. Sitting down at an empty table, she began to quietly eat her lunch when the three girls from earlier walked up,

"Hey! New girl, what are you doing here? This is a Prince Yuki Fan Club _only_ table!" Said the tallest girl. She had soft brown hair and looked seriously angry, surprised, Satomi quickly got up and moved to another empty table far away from the one the three girls sat at. Then she saw a familiar face outside the window she was next to. Akito!

He was sitting on a bench outside, watching her eat. His dark hair fell across his face slightly, and she noticed his haircut was the same as the grey haired boy, were they brothers? He flashed her a smile and motioned to the empty space beside him. She looked around and noticed lots of other students sitting outside in the grass. A little nervous, she grabbed her things and walked out a side door. She skirted the crowd and sat down on the bench beside him.

"See you kept your shoes on this time." He smiled as he said this, and she blushed a bright red,

"I was trying to be quiet so that boy wouldn't…" she stopped talking, realizing how stalker like her explanation sounded. She looked down at her food and quietly nibbled on her roll. Suddenly Akito reached around and tore off half of the bread. He broke off part of it and started eating, surprised she stuttered out an apology,

"I-I'm sorry I should have offered you some!" He flashed another smile, and laughed quietly, reaching down he started eating some of the rest of her lunch, he was obviously unaware, or maybe he just didn't care, how odd this was. First, he'd taken her out to lunch and kissed her when he'd only just met her that day, now he was eating her lunch on a school bench when he didn't even go here!

Had he been stalking her for months or something? Watching her sneak out every morning for work? How had she not seen him? Akito winked at her as though he'd read her mind and she realized she'd been staring at him for the past minute or so. He slipped his hand into hers, he seemed to really like holding hands, and turned toward her,

"Say, would you meet me here after school today?" She raised her eyebrows, but curiosity got the better of her,

"Ok."

**Ok, so how do you like it? Do you hate it? Feedback anyone?**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm back! I'm back! Let's get this show back on the road!**

Satomi barely noticed the rest of her day, as thoughts of Akito swirled in her mind. What could he want, was he going to kiss her again? She wanted him to do that, but was slightly nervous at the thought. It had been easier not wondering whether he would or not, whether he'd do this or that. Her heart was flying, but she calmly reminded herself to stay relaxed or she'd seem like a crazed schoolgirl by the time he saw her.

When the final bell finally rang, she was out of the classroom faster than everyone else. She was so ready to see him, to talk to him. This was so exciting!

"Airimori-san?" Satomi spun on one foot, surprised to see Yuki behind her.

"S-Sohma-senpai?" He looked worriedly at her,

"Are you going somewhere?" The grin on her face spread,

"I'm meeting Akito-san outside the school! I have to hurry!" the concern in Yuki's eyes grew as she spoke, and he grabbed her arm as she turned from him,

"Airimori-san, stay away from Akito, he's not who you think he is." Satomi stared at him, before pulling her arm away. What was his problem with Akito? She turned and walked away, but Yuki called after her, "Airimori-san, please, don't let him fool you!" From the moment she's seen Yuki with Akito, she'd known he had some sort of issue with him, but he was pushing past his own business saying things like that to her.

Pushing the door open with her shoulder, she spotted Akito on the bench they'd eaten at earlier.

"Akito-san!" she called out to him, and he turned, his dark hair flipping out of his face, a slight smile on his lips,

"Tomi-chan, I was wondering if you were coming." _Tomi-chan? I kinda like that!_

"I got held up, but it's nothing important, gomen'nasai." Akito smiled again,

"It's alright; I have a surprise for you." A surprise? Satomi hadn't heard those words for so long, it felt surreal. He stood, and now that she thought about it, he was rather tall compared to her 5'7" or 8", next to her 5'3" he surely looked like a giant. Walking toward her, he walked past, but when she started to turn and follow him, standing behind her, he held both her shoulders until she relaxed. His hands left her shoulders, and in a moment, he brought something cold around her neck, looping it carefully and clipping it behind her neck. His hands rested gently on her shoulders, and Satomi looked down.

Laying perhaps an inch below her collarbone was a silver heart with tiny stones on one half, curving like a wave. A delicate chain held it on, and after closer examination, she realized it was made by the same jeweler as her mother's bracelet. Spinning on her toes, she threw her arms up and around Akito's neck,

"Akito-san, I love it, it's beautiful!" his arms went around her waist, squeezing her for a moment.

"That won't do." He said quietly,

"What?" was he upset about her reaction, wait, he said it after hugging her, was she too thin, too short? What was wrong?

"I'm your boyfriend; you can't keep calling me –san all the time." Satomi felt relief spread through her, that was all, he just didn't like her addressing him so formally. Wait, boyfriend? Had he asked her out? Or did he think that wasn't necessary because they'd kissed? Was he calling her his girlfriend? Well, he has spent a lot of money on her already; dinner, the necklace.

"Kito-kun? Aki-kun?" none of the names she could think of really fit him; he wasn't a very easy person to give a nickname to. His demeanor seemed to demand respect. Then again, if she was his girlfriend…

"Aki-kun." He said it even quieter than before, as though it was a secret between just the two of them. It felt like a secret, the way they were whispering to each other, pressed so close.

"Tomi-chan, why don't you tell me about your family? You told me your parent's are divorced, and that's your mother's bracelet, but where is she? What about your father?" he led Satomi to the bench and they sat down together, closer than Satomi had ever sat to anyone. He'd picked a hard topic, that was for sure. The last thing she ever wanted to talk about was her parents, but this was Akito, he seemed to get her completely, so why not?

"Well, when I was little they were married, but we had to move around a lot, because of Dad's work. Oh, my dad's name is Ichi-" Satomi winced. The last time she'd heard her father's name out loud was when her mother had screamed at him the night before the divorce was official. "Ichirou, and my mother's name is Mitsuko. Moving a lot put a lot of stress on Mom, and me too, and after a while, she and Dad started to argue every time his job needed him to move.

"The fights just got bigger and bigger until one day, right before my fourteenth birthday, Mom packed all of my and her stuff and we just walked out. I lived with her in an apartment for about three months before their request for divorce went through. There was a huge custody battle and Dad won, but he'd been drinking a lot after me and Mom left. He moved with me from Kyoto to here and we've been here since. He, he's really angry when he's drunk, or hung-over, so I try to keep from waking him. I haven't heard from Mom since she lost custody, and that's really all I know." Turning to glance at Akito, she saw a strange look in his eyes, but his voice was normal, if a bit sad, when he spoke,

"I'm sorry, that must have been hard on you." Satomi looked at the ground, unsure if that was a blanket statement or his true feelings.

"It, it's so late, I should get home, I have homework to do, and I want to be in my room before Dad gets home…" Akito grabbed her wrist as she stood,

"Let me walk you home, I could even stay a while if you want, I kind of want to get away from _my_ home for a little while longer." Satomi nodded slightly, and his hand shifted to hold hers before they walked off together.

**OK three things, one, this story will have abuse in it. I'll warn you which chapters have it, but if you don't like that, then I'm sorry. I won't be too graphic, but it's a part of this story. Second: so far, a few of the names I gave my characters have important meanings. Some of you may have notices, but I took Satomi's name from the scene in the manga where all the girls are yelling at Yuki, so her name has little meaning, but for fun, I'll list the names mentioned so far**

**Airimori Satomi****- I'm not sure what Airimori (Air IH more EE) means, but Satomi (suh TOH mee) is wise and beautiful or wise beauty**

**Mitsuko****- Satomi's mother's last name will be mentioned later on, in future A/N's containing name meanings. Mitsuko (meet SOO ko) means light child or child of light, since she brought all the light and color to Ichirou and Satomi's lives**

**Airimori Ichirou****- Ichirou (ee CHEE row) means one son, which isn't super meaningful other than he's an only child, but it was mainly chosen because it had a tough, but easily broken sound to me**

**Third, this is a sort of SPOILER so unless you've read book 17, don't read any further: I know Akito's secret, but for my purposes, he is a boy in this Fic.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, well I've gotten kinda excited about updating this now, and I know exactly what I want from this Fic, so here we go! Oh, minor abuse here, just a slap and references to beatings.**

_"You're such a crybaby!" "Crybaby! Crybaby!" The chants surrounded Satomi as she stood against the wall, head hung low. She'd come out here to be alone, to be away from the mean kids at this school, but they'd followed her, they'd seen her tears. _

_ "Hey, crybaby, you'll fail if you miss class again, and that'll make your daddy mad!" The boy's voice deepened at the end of the sentence, and Satomi looked up to find her father's pale grey eyes, shaded over by dark hair, glaring down at her,_

_ "You did _what?_ You failed? You failed third grade? You useless girl! Who fails third grade? You waste of space! I told your mother you were no good! I told her, and that's why she left!" Her father was shouting so loud, Satomi's ears hurt, "I told her we could give you up, but instead she left me, all because of you!" His hand slapped down on to her, and Satomi fell to the ground, a cry escaping her lips,_

_ "Daddy, I'm sorry! I didn't want to make Mommy leave! I didn't mean to Daddy! I didn't mean to!" but at this point her father was beyond reason, and all Satomi could do was lay down and take it. Take the angry, drunken words. Take the beatings, the pain, the shame. After all, if Daddy said she made Mommy leave, it must be true, it must be true, it must be…_

The alarm rang in Satomi's ears and she slammed her hand down onto the clock, but for a moment she was still lost in the dream. She hadn't really failed third grade, but that boy's words had stuck in her mind long after she'd moved from that town. Her mother hadn't even left until Satomi was fourteen. But her father's words were real, his fists were real, his anger was real. He'd said those things and more many times, coupling the hard words with harder hits.

Satomi knew she hadn't really driven her mother away, but when her father said it, it sounded so believable. The same lies he fed to himself he screamed at her, driving them at her, pounding them into her head. Making them real.

Sliding out from under the covers, she slipped across to her closet and pulled out her uniform. Grabbing a dark blue hair bow, she slipped through the hall into the bathroom. In the shower in a moment, she let the soft, warm water flow over her, trying to wash the dream and the feelings attached to it down the drain. When she stepped out, the air hit her with a biting shiver. Drying her hair with her practically noiseless hairdryer, she braided it carefully down her right shoulder, tying it in with the dark blue hair bow.

Slipping into her uniform, she slipped down the stairs and out the door in silence, pulling on her shoes by the door. Taking off running as she stepped out the door, she almost ran smack into Akito's back. He was sitting on the steps of her porch, apparently waiting for her. She fell forward to his right, but she never hit the ground. Opening her eyes, she found herself cradled in Akito's lap.

"You should be more careful, Tomi-chan, you could have killed someone." She blushed at his collarbone, not daring to meet his eyes. "Anyway, I noticed you looked awfully flustered yesterday when you got to school, and when we walked here together I must admit I was out of breath. So, I thought I'd get us a chauffeur, and I could take you to school in a car." Looking out at the street in front of her house, she gasped at the fancy vehicle parked on the dirty lawn.

"Aki-kun, I don't need you to do that, I can run, it's…" but Akito kept up his talking, ignoring her protests,

"Also I figured you could stand a bigger breakfast than what you get at the fast food place, so there's breakfast included, kept in-car. You seemed awfully thin when you hugged me yesterday." He set her on the ground, steadying her as he stood himself, dwarfing her in his presence. Taking her hand, he led her to the car, pulling the door open and sliding in after her.

A plateful of western-style breakfast sat before both of their seats on trays that came out from the doors. It took her almost no time to eat it, and she was surprised to see they weren't even halfway there when she finished.

"He's taking the long way, since in a car it takes so much less time than running. We get some quality time together!" That was the most excited she'd ever heard him sound, and as he leaned toward her, she was perfectly happy to lean his way and meet him.

When their lips touched, a burst of electricity shot through her. They kissed easily this time, not stumbling surprise from her, since this had been no surprise. They scooted together into the middle of the seat, not breaking the kiss for even a moment. Before she could even process it, she was on her back on the seat, Akito leaning down over her. Then she remembered the driver and turned her head from him.

"The driver," she gasped, only just noticing how out of breath she was, "The driver, he must think I'm some sort of slut, making out like that in the car…" Akito licked his lips and nodded his head toward the front of the car. There was a smaller sized door set into a wall; she couldn't see anything out front.

"He can't even hear us Tomi-chan, all he knows about you is that you're my girlfriend and you're incredibly clumsy. You seem to really like falling around me." The blush spread again, and she looked up into his dark eyes.

"Oh, s-sorry." Akito smiled faintly, before leaning back down over her, lips meeting once more. If this was what happiness was like, Satomi couldn't imagine what life would be like in her future. She'd been so sure that she'd be stuck living like a fugitive in her own house, but now she had Akito. Had it really only been two days? He seemed almost too good to be true, but she knew that couldn't be true, he was hers, and he would always be. Nothing could tear them apart

**This is so much fun, I love watching Satomi go through life! Each chapter is turning out so well… I hope y'all are loving it as much as me!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm gonna be updating this every Saturday, so now you will know when to expect a new chapter!**

"Aki-chan, why don't I ever see you in class?" It had been five days since he'd started picking her up in the mornings, but he'd never once come with her to school.

"Oh, I'm homeschooled. It's a chore honestly, I'd rather come here, but my relatives who do prefer me as far from them as possible. I'm sure Yuki has tried to warn you away from me?" Satomi looked at him in surprise,

"How did you know?" Akito closed his eyes, leaning back into the seat,

"We had some conflict when we were children, and he's never gotten over it. He's blown me up into this evil being. I'm sorry he's taking it out on you." She smiled. That explained Yuki's strange actions the past few days, which had been in the back of her mind. "Will I be able to meet you in our usual spot at lunch?" She grinned at that. They'd been eating on the bench together. Never touching, sometimes not speaking, but just sitting together. She was waiting for him to make them public by kissing her, or hugging her during those times, but she didn't want to push it, so she waited for him to make the first move.

"Of course. I'll see you then!" She grabbed her bag and slid out of the car, shutting the door and running to the school. Putting her things away, she turned to head for class, but a hand fell onto her shoulder,

"Airimori-san, you aren't listening to-"Satomi cut him off harshly,

"Sohma-senpai, I respect you, but please stay out of my personal life. Aki-kun is a wonderful person, and I'm very happy with him. Whatever your conflict with him, please leave me out of it!" Yuki looked stunned, but nodded, admitting defeat. Satomi bowed to him and walked away, glad to have cleared up her feelings with him.

Walking into her class, Satomi sat in her normal seat, and prepared herself for a boring few hours she'd have to endure before she could see Akito again. She found herself writing little poems that ended up sounding a little like lyrics in the margins. Who knew what love could do to a person! After a few classes she had a whole song compiled together, and could hum a tune for it. She was pretty proud of that, having never written anything but schoolwork before.

When the final bell rang, it took Satomi no time at all to grab her things and run to the bench outside the cafeteria. Sure enough, Akito was there, only not how she'd expected. He was lying face down on the bench, one arm a pillow the other hanging off the bench, barely brushing the ground. She walked over and nudged him, but he didn't stir, only mumbled slightly, and tried to turn over. The only problem with trying to turn over was the fact that he was lying on a bench, so instead of rolling onto the other side of the bed, he rolled completely off the bench, falling with frightening speed.

Satomi barely had time to catch his head before it hit the ground, but she managed, and she realized for the first time how heavy he was. His eyes flew open, and he stared up at her for a moment, and his eyes flicked to the bench and back to her. She had fallen to her knees while catching him, and felt blood coming from the left one. Vaguely she could hear people muttering nearby, and a few giggles she recognized as the Prince Yuki girls came from her right.

Akito must not have noticed, since at that moment his fingers curled around the back of her head and pulled her down into a kiss, this one just as surprising as the first. The giggles from her right turned into gasps and whispers. After a moment more, Akito released her and sat up; he turned to face her and glanced down at her knees,

"Tomi-chan, you're bleeding!" he jumped up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up beside him. The Prince Yuki girls were all staring, as was every other person, and a few squirrels too, around them. Still holding her hand, Akito spun her around and sat her on the bench before pulling a bag out from under it. From the bag, he pulled a first aid kit, and immediately set to work, cleaning the nasty scrape and bandaging it up.

Most of the people had left to get lunch now that the make out session was over, but the three Yuki girls seemed more interested than ever. Satomi pointed this out to Akito, and his only answer was to pull her into another kiss. What was his problem? Did he want her to be embarrassed?

Oddly, this time he pulled away as fast as he'd started and grabbed her hand, pulling her back up.

"Let's show them something to laugh about." He grabbed the surprised Satomi up and spun until he was sitting on the bench with her straddling him. Pulling her into another kiss, he drug her mind away from the Prince Yuki girls for a minute. He finally broke it off when her stomach growled, leaving her embarrassed and gasping for breath. "Tomi-chan, why don't you go get us something to eat?" She smiled at him, and hopped off the bench, hurrying to the lunch line. Quickly moving through it, she asked for larger portions than usual, so she could share with Akito. As she made her way back to the door leading outside, one of the Prince Yuki girls called her name."

"Hey Airimori" Weaving her way to the table they sat at, she gripped her lunch tightly,

"Motoko-senpai?"

"You think you're so special, showing off your Yuki-like boyfriend in front of us, but we know he'll be on his way as soon as he gets tired of you, which shouldn't take too long, considering…" she motioned to Satomi's thin body. Sure, she had thin hips, but everything else was pretty good for a fifteen year old who ate as little as she did. She was filling out pretty well, really.

Turning from the girls table, she walked back outside to Akito.

"I was wondering if you were ever coming back. Let's eat, I'm starving." Satomi sat beside him, and he spooned some of the soup up in the spoon. _Shoot, I only got one spoon!_ Satomi watched as he drank the soup, wondering if it was as good as usual. He dipped the spoon in again, and lifted it up to her lips. A little surprised, she drank the soup, wondering if anyone else had noticed the spoon sharing but her.

Sure enough, half the people outside were watching them, surely they looked like an awfully close couple, which was embarrassing since that was basically what they were. Everything seemed rather rushed to Satomi, but she brushed it off as nerves.

"Hey Satomi, why don't I take you to my house this time? You haven't been over before and I'm sure it'll be fun!" She matched his grin, nodding enthusiastically

"Of course! I'll need to stop by my place to grab some stuff and leave my book bag there." She and Akito laughed the rest of lunch away, and she headed off to class with his kiss on her lips. Little did she know everything was about to change.

**Ooh, cliffy, what's gonna happen? Give me your predictions, your ideas, I want them!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Trucking right along! I'm having so much fun with this! Abuse in this chapter, not sure yet if it'll be graphic or not. Oh, some higher curses too, just insert lesser if you don't want to read that, but it's necessary to the portrayal of a character, Nothing that isn't in Furuba**

Meeting Akito at their bench, she climbed into the car with him, excited to see his house. When they reached her house, she slipped inside with her things, creeping up the stairs with her stuff. Reaching her room, she dropped her stuff and went to the closet to change into something cute.

"I was wondering when you'd be getting home, you useless girl." Satomi froze, eyes wide and body like a statue. Her heart was thudding in her chest as terror flooded her. What was her dad doing in her room? Scratch that, what was he doing at the house? He should be stupid drunk by… now. He _is _ stupid drunk, that's why he's home, the bar must've kicked him out! If that bartender had known what he was doing…

"I haven't seen you much lately, and that car you just pulled up in, pretty fancy huh? Never see something like that in this neighborhood. What you been doing while I'm out, huh? Have you become some little whore while I've been away? Is that your pimp out there, or a client?" Satomi couldn't bear to turn around, and her voice shook as she tried to form words,

"Th-that's my boyfriend Dad, A-Akito Sohma-kun, he's been driving me home lately, and we were about to go on a date, so I thought I'd change…" he cut her off harshly

"Shut up you little brat! You think you can just go out nad find happiness and leave me here to run the whole show? You're just like Mitsuko, ready to leave the moment things get tough, leave me alone and find you happiness. What about my happiness, huh? What about me? All you women are the same!" the first slap landed on her face, "You're all the same! You little bitch!" now punched began to fall "You and your mother, all bitches!" all Satomi could do was try to hide, she couldn't fight her father, he was too strong. "All you care about is yourself! What about me? What about me, damn it?" The pain was spreading. Her arms, her legs, her face, everything hurt, everything screamed at her to get away, but she couldn't. Finally she cried out,

"Please Daddy! Stop, please, it hurts Daddy! Daddy, please! I'm sorry Daddy, I'm sorry I'm so horrible, I'm sorry I drove Mommy away!" Her father raised his fist back again, but something grabbed him, and he was pulled away from her. Satomi curled into a ball, sobbing. Everything hurt. It all hurt so badly.

Someone picked her up, carrying her gently. She caught bits of a conversation. Something about 'Hurry!' and 'We have to get her to Hatori.' Overwhelmed by pain, she didn't complain when black dots crowded over her vision.

…..

Soft fabric surrounded Satomi, cushioning her in the darkness. She was afraid to open her eyes. What if her father was there, ready to take her back to hell? What if, oh no, what if he'd blamed Akito for it? That would be terrible, if Akito was arrested all because of her! She had to open her eyes, she had to set things straight.

Light flooded her vision for only a moment, but that moment hurt. As her eyes adjusted, a tall man came in to view. He must have been her doctor, because he wore a white coat. His hair split around one eye, covering the other, but he seemed gentle.

"Please, doctor, you have to listen…" He placed a hand on her forehead, jotting down notes on a clipboard,

"You may call me Hatori-kun, and don't worry, you're going to be fine." He had to listen, she had to tell him it wasn't Akito's fault!

"Doct- Hatori-kun, you have to listen to me! It wasn't Akito, he didn't-" Hatori placed a finger on her lips, silencing her.

"It's all right, we know, Akito's right next to you." Satomi's eyes grew wide, and she turned her head to the other side of her bed. Akito lay next to her, on his side, sleeping as he had on the bench at lunch the other day. He looked so peaceful, lying there like that. "He wouldn't leave your side. Honestly I was surprised, he's never given so much attention to someone else before." A soft, low, rough noise came from Akito, not liking the conversation's direction,

"Hatori!" The man looked up from his clipboard,

"Oh, it seems sleeping beauty has awoken."

"Aki-kun, did you just growl?" That caught Hatori's attention,

"Aki-kun? Hah! I like it" Akito sat up slowly, seeming a little frustrated over the situation,

"Hatori, would you let me have some alone time with my girlfriend?" Hatori cracked a tiny smile,

"Alright. Satomi-san, please don't hesitate to call me if he overdoes it." The tall man exited the room, laughing just a little. Slowly, carefully, Satomi sat up. She felt weak and sore, but nothing unbearable.

"Tomi-chan, I was so worried about you!" he reached over and carefully took her hand,

"Where are we? I've never seen a place like this before."Akito was playing with her fingers again, just like he had this first time they'd been out together.

"This is my home, the Sohma Estate. Hatori is the Sohma family doctor." Satomi's mouth opened a little in surprise,

"You have your own doctor? Like a personal one that's only yours?" Akito smiled at that,

"Yeah, he's actually a Sohma too, but he only takes family as patients. You're a special case, because you're my girlfriend." Satomi stared into his eyes, wishing she could just lose herself in them forever,

"You have that much power in the family?" Akito looked away, seeming a little lost for words,

"Tomi-chan, I'm the _head_ of the family."

**Every day she spends with Akito, she comes closer to learning about the Sohma curse. SPOILER But since Akito isn't quite like the rest, perhaps she'll never know… END SPOILER Akito is OOC, I know, like I said in Chapter 1 there is a reason for everything!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok... I'm back again, I guess y'all are probably pissed at my lack of consistensy, and all I can say is I was a graduate at my old school, it still hurts to call it my **_**old**_** school, which is a big deal. It only goes thru 8th grade and they put sooo much into the graduation, and everyone has to give a super long speech that takes weeks to write. Well, ok mine only took like 20 minutes, and the teachers wouldn't stop complimenting it... I'm not supporting my case at all. I was busy with a lot of crazy stuff, crying a lot, making summer plans with my almost boyfriend, saying goodbye to the best friends I've ever had, worrying about High School, planning for it, trying to steal my last days with all the people who mean the most to me in my life, my best friends... The people who literally saved my life... I've never had a hard time saying goodbye, and I've never felt bad leaving people behind, but these last two years... I'm almost crying as I write this... I wish I could live these last two years over and over again for the rest of my life. I can only hold on to these memories with my hands as tight as they'll go, I'm staying in touch with everyone I can, but some people I've already lost. Ok... let's get to the point. My last few weeks, ok months, have been heaven in Hell, and I can only hope I'll survive the aftermath. I'm gonna write, I''m gonna finish the stuff I started here, and I'm gonna start new things when I'm done with it. Please support me, I'm in a place in my life where I could soar in the wind or crash to the ground.**

"Tomi-chan, I'm the _head _of the family."

"The _head_?" Akito was the head of his family? It made sense, the 'discount' at the restaurant, the fact he was always out late and never went to school, but never got in trouble. But the _head…_ her boyfriend!

"Yes, Tomi-chan, the head." Akito reached for her hand, but the door flew open as he did,

"Akito, we need you now, she's doing it again!" An old maid stood stiffly in the doorway, her gaze never shifting from Akito, like Satomi didn't exist. Akito let out what sounded like a growl, and stood up.

"I'll go take care of it, keep and eye on Satomi-chan, treat her with respect, as if she were me." Akito swept out of the room with a speed Satomi had never seen, he was always slow and calm, but this Akito moved quickly and with an angry determination. The door swung closed as the maid walked in.

"So you're the 'Tomi-chan' Akito-san is always talking about. I expected more honestly. What are you, a halfer? Your hair's so blonde! I never knew Akito-san would fall for something so… unnatural." Satomi was shocked, there was some French a ways back on her mothers side, that was where the blonde hair came from, but people had always complimented her on it, many people had commented that dyed blonde never looked the same. This woman on the other hand, was beyond rude.

"I'm sorry to be so disappointing, but I think I head Aki-chan say _something_ about respecting me like you would him! If this is how you would treat him…" The maid narrowed her eyes, but said nothing. She sat down in the chair the doctor, Ha- something Satomi thought, had been in, her knees glued together under the blank kimono. She sat stiffly, her back never touching the chair. What was probably minutes felt like hours, the womans judging eyes scraping Satomi for more problems, more oddities to pick at when Akito wasn't around.

"That woman drives me mad, I swear!" he glanced at the maid for only a moment, "you are excused." He said, authority radiating from him. The woman walked away in the same stiff, lock-kneed way she'd come. The moment the door shut behind her, all the power drained from Akito's body, and he walked over to the bed. "I'm so sorry about that Tomi-chan, that woman is such a bother…"

"Yeah, she was…" Satomi muttered, and Akito looked at her funny but said nothing as he sat beside her. Resting his head on her shoulder, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Hatori said you could leave for your room at any time, I'll take you there, if you'd like." Satomi nodded, and Akito stood. Reaching out, he to her hand and helped her up, steadying her as she swayed. They left the room without speaking, and as they walked down the halls, she noticed every person they passed stopped and greeted Akito, few acknowledged her, but those who did gave her either pleased or disgusted nods, more the latter.

"How do you know the way, there are so many hallways!" Satomi asked as they turned what mutve been the twentieth corner. Akito smiled,

"I've lived here all my life, there are little things you notice after sixteen years. See that dent in the corner, I put that there playing baseball when I was seven, that means were right by my room. He turned the dented corner, and pointed Satomi to one of the two rooms. "I'll be in this one if you need me, any time, day or night, look here first." Satomi nodded, and watched as Akito walked through the door. Then she turned to the one before her, reached out, and twisted the knob.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok, I've decided I'm not warning about abuse, if you don't like reading that, this isn't the story for you. I hope you all like this chapter, please review!**

Satomi nodded, and watched as Akito walked through the door. Then she turned to the door before her, reached out, and twisted the knob.

There it was, the beginning of her new life. It was her old room! Akito must've had people move all her things here while she slept; even her stuffed fox collection was in the corner of the room. Wait, had Akito seen that? Satomi desperately hoped he hadn't, that would to so embarrassing! Taking a tentative step in, she walked across the plus carpet, the only thing that was different from her previous room (no rugs to trip her here!) and fell face first into the soft green comforter.

It felt so good knowing her father was nowhere near her, to know her was locked up and could never hurt her again. Having lived in fear of him for years, she was tempted to yell in excitement, but held it in. She didn't want the Sohma family to think badly of her, their maid had already criticized her blonde hair, and that was more than enough for Satomi.

Pushing herself up, she stretched up toward the ceiling, as though trying to touch it. How lucky she was she'd met Akito. If she hadn't followed Yuki that day, where would she be now? She'dve never met Akito; she'd be at home right now, probably cowering in her room, terrified of making a sound.

The sun was starting to set, and Satomi knew she had to get some sleep, since she'd have to return to school tomorrow. She didn't know how much, if anything, the people there knew about her absence. The Yuki Fan Club girls probably thought she'd been dumped or worse, and was hiding at home from embarrassment, and Yuki had probably made up many plausible explanations for how it was Akito's fault. He was so convinced Akito was bad, for no apparent reason other than a 'childhood argument'. What could Akito possibly have done? Maybe Yuki was just jealous! Perhaps he'd been in line for Head of the family too, but Akito had beat him to it! That made sense, what other reason could Yuki have for hating Akito?

Shaking her head, she shoved her racing thoughts from her mind and slid under the covers, quickly falling asleep.

"_You think you can go out and find happiness and leave me here to run the whole show? What about me? What about me, you little brat!"…"Hey crybaby, if you miss class again you'll fail third grade! That'll make your Daddy mad!"... "You useless girl! You waste of space!"..."Satomi sweetie, go pack up all your things into boxes, I left some in your room." "Where are we going Mom?" "Anywhere but here"…"You drove her away you little bitch!"…"That woman isn't fit to be a mother, she rarely came home, and when she did, she just wanted to pick a fight!"…"Custody of Airimori Satomi is awarded to Airimori Ichirou, with no visits to Airimori Mitsuko"…"No, Mom, don't leave me Mommy!"_

Satomi's heart was flying when she woke, terror running through her.

"Mommy come back! Mommy, don't leave me with Daddy, he's scary!" Satomi cried into her pillow, tears soaking through the yellow sheets.

"Tomi-chan, are you all right?" Daddy? What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in jail! He's so mad!

"Daddy I'm sorry! I'm sorry Daddy! I'm sorry!" Strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her from the bed.

"Tomi-chan, it's ok, it's just me, Akito. Your Dad isn't here, he's locked up, he can't hurt you. I'm here Tomi-chan." Her face pressed to his chest, Satomi gripped the back of his shirt as she sobbed,

"Don't go, stay with me…" she whispered into his shirt,

"I'm not going anywhere, Tomi-chan. I'm staying right here." Akito laid her down on the bed, and slid in with her, pulling the covers over them. "Your Dad can't hurt you anymore." He pulled her close, his arms around her. Clinging to him, Satomi slid back into sleep, but no nightmares plagued her while Akito was there.

**Alrighty now, what do y'all think? Review! Chapter 10 will be up next Tuesday!**


	10. Update

I know everyone hates this, but I've been gone so long, so I'm going to look through these chapters, edit, and reupload them. Hopefully you can all bear with me since I don't even know where I left off with anything. This won't take too long, and soon I thing I'll be back to weekly updates!

Love

~Daysky


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